World Championship Game 1: A shocking start, as Ding takes bold approach to win with black

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
11/25/2024 – The World Chess Championship in Singapore began with a bang as reigning champion Ding Liren delivered a stunning victory over 18-year-old challenger Gukesh D in game 1. Despite entering the match as an underdog, Ding's bold strategy and strategic brilliance with the black pieces earned him an early lead. While the young Indian prodigy struggled with nerves, his resilience and steady rise suggest he is far from out of contention. | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

ChessBase 18 - Mega package ChessBase 18 - Mega package

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

More...

"It's only more exciting now"

Find below expert video analyses by GM Daniel King and IM Robert Ris.

An exhilarating game 1 set the stage for what promises to be an intense battle for the World Chess Championship crown in Singapore. Ding Liren, the reigning champion, entered the match as an underdog but defied expectations by defeating 18-year-old challenger Gukesh D with the black pieces. The Chinese star not only secured the win but did so in spectacular style, adopting a bold strategy in the opening and demonstrating exceptional tactical sharpness as the game progressed. This early win gives Ding a crucial lead in the best-of-14 match series.

Ding's victory is particularly striking given his recent struggles. After claiming the world title in 2023 by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding held a lofty 2789 rating. However, his rating had dropped to 2728 amid sparse tournament participation and ongoing mental health challenges. Pundits had raised concerns about his form heading into the championship, but his strong game 1 performance suggests he remains a formidable competitor. This early win also puts added pressure on Gukesh, the rising star seeking to dethrone the champion.

For Gukesh, the youngest-ever challenger in World Championship history, nerves appeared to play a significant role in the opening game, a point he acknowledged in the post-game press conference. Despite the setback, the Indian prodigy's calmness and maturity have been key to his meteoric rise, and many expect him to bounce back strongly.

Gukesh's steady rating climb - leaping from 2725 in January 2023 to 2783 now - has been a testament to his consistency. His performance at the gruelling Candidates Tournament in Toronto earlier this year also underlined his readiness for the big stage. Gukesh reflected during the press conference:

About my opponent's form, I expected nothing else. I expected the best version of him, and we have a long match ahead, so it's only more exciting now.

In the game, Ding surprised everyone by opting for the French Defence, a rarely seen choice in World Championship matches - Ding employed it in game 7 against Nepomniachtchi, but the opening had not been played since its last notable appearance in 1978. Gukesh initially responded confidently, rattling off moves quickly. However, Ding's tenth move left the youngster out of his preparation.

The ensuing fierce struggle showcased Ding's class as he outmanoeuvred his opponent. The victory marked Ding's first classical win in 304 days, his last being against Max Warmerdam at the Tata Steel Masters. Notably, Ding also defeated Gukesh in Wijk aan Zee in January, making this his second consecutive win (with black) against the talented Indian - in their encounter at the Sinquefield Cup, Ding had the white pieces in a game that ended drawn.

World Chess Championship 2024

The much anticipated match has just begun | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

World Chess Championship 2024

A beautiful playing hall in Singapore | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

The first shock of the day was Ding's 1...e6. The second one was also delivered by the defending champion, who spent close to half an hour before playing 7...a5 amid a theoretical position - in a system which he had surely reviewed before playing this game!

Gukesh v. Ding

Commentators and fans were worried about Ding, given his subpar form during the year. However, once Gukesh went for 10.g4 - a brave novelty - and Ding replied by 10...Qa5, it became clear that the Indian star was also under pressure.

After the game, we found out that Gukesh was in fact out of book after Black's queen appeared on a5. The opening strategy by Ding had worked well, after all.

At that point, Gukesh had a 47-minute advantage on the clock, but as the game progressed, Ding closed the time gap steadily as his position looked increasingly better move after move. The world champion's 18...Nb2, played after only 42 seconds, was particularly impressive.

Natural-looking moves like 18...0-0 or 18...Rc8 are playable alternatives in this position, but Ding's choice of placing the knight on b2 is considered to be the strongest continuation by the engines. The Chinese star had recovered his usual form, and was willing to go for the most critical lines in order to fight for a win.

After 19.Qe3 Rc8 20.Rac1 Qc4 21.f5 Qd3, Ding already was up on the clock. Moreover, it was difficult to find a good plan for White, as trading the queens would only increase Black's advantage.

Gukesh opted for 22.Qe1, defending the pawn on c3, when 22.Qf4 was stronger - though Black could have replied by 22...g5, with a strong position. Ding was now clearly in the driver's seat.

Clearly Gukesh felt he was in trouble, as he began to spend a lot of time on each of his decisions. After Black's 29th move, Gukesh had less than 11 minutes to make 11 moves (there are no increments before move 40 in the match). What is more, he spent 6 of his remaining 11 minutes before playing 30.Qc2, which further increased Black's edge.

A confident Ding, who had more than 16 minutes on the clock at that point, calculated carefully before playing the correct 30...Qc4, cementing his advantage (Black was two pawns up at that point). The reigning champion castled short in the next move, and had little trouble improving his pieces, while Gukesh struggled both with his position and with the clock.

Gukesh played 40.Bd6 with only 31 seconds left, and Ding went on to secure his victory only two moves later.

Resignation came after 40...Qc2+ 41.Kg3 Qxa2 42.Be6+ Kh8 (not 42...Kh7 due to 43.Qxe4 dxe4 44.Bxa2). Remarkably, this is the first time Ding is ahead on the scoreboard in a World Championship match - in 2023, he always came from behind against Nepomniachtchi.

Dommaraju Gukesh

It was the worst possible start for Gukesh D | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An

World Chess Championship 2024

Amid the tense struggle | Photo: FIDE / Eng Chin An


Expert analyses

Commentary by GM Daniel King

Commentary by IM Robert Ris


Games

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 4 e6 15 2.d4 9 d5 6 3.Nc3 9 Nf6 19 4.e5 6 Nfd7 6 5.f4 6 c5 14 6.Nce2 8 Nc6 2:17 7.c3 6 a5 27:42 7...Be7 is becoming the main line. C11: French: Classical System: 4 e5 and 4 Bg5 dxe4. 8.Nf3 10 a4 2:47 9.Be3 9 Be7 46 10.g4N 22 Predecessor: 10.Qd2 0-0 11.h4 b5 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Bxc5 Bxc5 14.Ned4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Be7 16.Kf2 1-0 Duda,J (2743)-Caruana,F (2823) Chess.com Speed blitz 2020 (1.19) 10...Qa5 14:17 11.Bg2 20:25 a3 12:44 12.b3 39 cxd4 4 13.b4 5:24 Qc7 1:16 14.Nexd4 22 Nb6 17:58 15.0-0 9:15 Nc4 3 16.Bf2 45 Bd7 2:38 17.Qe2 33:41 Nxd4 48 18.Nxd4 6:22 Nb2 41 19.Qe3 2:54 Rc8 1:39 20.Rac1 4:04 Qc4 28 21.f5 4:35 Qd3 50 21...Qxa2?! 22.Ra1 Qc4 23.Rxa3 22.Qe1 3:31 22.Rc2 22...Bg5-+ 2:01 22...exf5? 23.e6 23.Bxd5 Qa6± 23...fxe6 24.Nxe6+- 23.Rc2 2:17 Rc4 10 23...exf5 24.e6 Bf6 24...fxe6? 25.Nxe6 Qxc2 26.Nxg5+ Kf8 27.Ne6+ Kf7 28.Bxd5+- 25.Rd2 25.exd7+ Kxd7 26.Qb1 Qa6+- 25.Bxd5 0-0+- 25...fxe6 26.Rxd3 26.Nxe6 Qxc3 27.Nf4+ Kf8+- 26.Bxd5 0-0+- 26.gxf5 Qxc3 27.Nxe6 Rc4+- 26...Nxd3 27.Qe3 Rxc3 28.gxf5+- 28.Nxe6 Nxf2 29.Qxf2 Bxe6+- 23...Ba4 24.fxe6 fxe6 24...Bxc2? 25.exf7+ Kxf7 26.e6+ Ke8 27.Qe5+- 25.Nxe6 25.Re2? Bd1-+ 24.h4 7:40 Bf4 4 25.Qb1 1:39 Rxc3 7:13 26.Rxc3 1:58 Qxc3 5 27.fxe6 47 fxe6 4:34 27...Bxe6-+ aiming for ...0-0. 28.Nf5 Bxe5 28.Ne2 14 Qxe5 53 29.Nxf4 1:23 Qxf4 5 30.Qc2 6:09 30.Bc5 was called for. Qxg4 31.Qxh7 Qd4+ 31...Qxh4 32.Qxh4 Rxh4 33.Rf8# 31...Qxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Kd8 33.Bb6+ Ke7 34.Qxh8 Be8 35.Qxg7+ 32.Bxd4 Rxh7 33.Bc5 30...Qc4!-+ 6:08 30...Qxb4 31.Qc7 0-0 31...Qxg4 32.Bb6 31...Rf8 32.Qb8+ 32.Qxd7 Qxg4 33.Kh2 31.Qd2 48 31.Qxc4 Nxc4 32.Bd4 31...0-0-+ 3:48 31...Qxa2? 32.Qg5 Na4 32...0-0 33.Bd4 Rxf1+ 34.Bxf1 e5 35.Qxe5 Kf8 36.Qxg7+ Ke8 37.Bf6 Be6 38.Qe7# 33.Bd4+- 33.Qxg7 Rf8+- 31...Qxg4 32.Bc5 b6 32...Qxh4 33.Qc3= 33.Bxb6 32.Bd4 1
32...Nd3! 29 32...Qxa2 33.Qg5 Rxf1+ 34.Bxf1 e5 35.Qxe5 35.Qd8+ Kf7 36.Qxd7+ Kf6 37.Bc5 Qb1 38.Qe7+ Kg6 39.Qe6# 35...Kf8 36.Qxg7+ Ke8 37.Bf6 Be6 38.Qe7# 33.Qe3 2:53 Rxf1+ 3:13 33...Nxb4 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Bf1± 34.Bxf1 1 e5! 2 35.Bxe5 1 Qxg4+ 8 36.Bg2? 0 36.Bg3 Nxb4 37.Qxa3 36...Bf5-+ 27 36...Nxb4? 37.Qxa3 Bc6 37...Qxh4 38.Bc3= 38.Qb3-+ 37.Bg3 19 Be4 13 Inferior is 37...Nxb4 38.Qe8# 38.Kh2 4 h6 14 Resist 38...Nxb4 39.Bxe4 Qxe4 40.Qxa3-+ 39.Bh3? 16 39.b5 39...Qd1-+ 8 40.Bd6 0 Qc2+ 0 41.Kg3 4 Qxa2 3:37 42.Be6+ 5:46 Kh8 55
0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L27280–12024C11WCC Match 20241.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju2783½–½2024C50WCC Match 20242.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L27281–02024D35WCC Match 20243.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju2783½–½2024A06WCC Match 20244.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L2728½–½2024B22WCC Match 20245.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju2783½–½2024D02WCC Match 20246.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L2728½–½2024D78WCC Match 20247.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju2783½–½2024A21WCC Match 20248.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L2728½–½2024E11WCC Match 20249.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju2783½–½2024D37WCC Match 202410.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L27281–02024A09WCC Match 202411.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju27831–02024A13WCC Match 202412.1
Gukesh Dommaraju2783Ding,L2728½–½2024C11WCC Match 202413.1
Ding,L2728Gukesh Dommaraju27830–12024D02WCC Match 202414.1

Schedule

World Chess Championship 2024

Links


Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors


We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.